


Selfish

by biteymadangelofthelord



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, but it's angsty so sorry, eventually, later on, seriously i'm so sorry, this is a gift for my friend for being productive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-24 03:37:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6140348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biteymadangelofthelord/pseuds/biteymadangelofthelord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I'm bad at summaries, but Marinette confesses to Adrien and things don't go as planned for either of them. I'm also bad at updating. I WILL finish this, I promise, but it will be slow because I'm a giant ball of stress and anxiety oops.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sakurajou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakurajou/gifts).



> Hi! First of all, this is unbetaed so mistakes are my own, but I would appreciate it if you would let me know. 
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome, just don't be a jerk or else I'll cry. 
> 
> This is a gift for sakurajou for being productive! :) it was supposed to be a short fic, but I have five and a half chapters written and five more at the least planned out. 
> 
> Also I know for a fact that stuff like this has been done before, but I wanted to try my hand at it so yeah. 
> 
> Enjoy!

      “I can’t do this!” Marinette whispered to the girl sitting next to her, dropping her head into her hands.  
      “Yes, you can!” Alya hissed back. “You’ve been working up to it all day. I am not letting you back out now.” Mari looked over at her, widening her eyes and sticking her lower lip out into a pout. “Oh no, the puppy dog eyes are not going to work on me today. You’re going to do it.”  
      “What if he rejects me,’ Mari whined quietly.  
      “Then I’ll kill him.”  
      “Alya!” But the end-of-the-day bell rang then and her redheaded friend popped out of her seat, smirking over her shoulder and dragging a protesting Nino along with her. Mari stayed seated, trying to control her breathing as the classroom emptied. She had hoped that Adrien would leave with the rest of the class, but he was talking to the teacher about something at the front of the room and thus, Marinette had no excuse. She was doomed.  
       Their teacher had left and the blond boy was right in front of her, gathering his things into his backpack. It was now or never.  
      “A-Adrien,” Mari said, her voice barely audible, even to herself, but somehow, Adrien had heard. Of course.  
      “What’s up, Marinette?” he asked, his smile pulling her off track for a moment. God, he was so beautiful and handsome and kind and amaze--right. To the point.  
      “C-can I talk to y-you about something?” She resisted the temptation to stare at her desk, but she feared he would walk away if she did.  
      “Sure,” he sat down backwards in his chair, resting his arms on the chair back with his chin on top of them. “What can I do for you?”  
      “I-I--” she stuttered, internally cursing her inability to speak around him.  
      “Yeah?”  
      “I-I like y-you, A-Adrien.” There. She said it. She dropped her gaze to her desk, shifting awkwardly in the silence that followed. She was too scared to look at him, sure his face showed his disgust with her now.  
      She felt the need to flee and was getting up, gripping her own backpack, ready to run when his hand shot out, gripping her wrist. She looked up, shocked and saw his face twisted into a regretful expression.  
     “I’m sorry, Marinette” he said quietly. “I love someone else.” He let go of her wrist then, but she was rooted to the spot, unable to move as she stared at him. He ruffled his gorgeous blond hair back from his forehead and sighed. “I’m so sorry.”  
      Of course he would be sorry. Of course he would be nice about it. He was so sweet and that only hurt Marinette more. She stepped away from him then, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. She couldn’t look at him anymore, so she trained her eyes on the floor.  
      “It’s okay. I don’t know what I was thinking,” she whispered before she ran from the room, ignoring him calling after her. She ran past Alya and Nino who were waiting on the steps outside the school, grateful that being Ladybug made her able to run faster than them as she heard their feet pounding against the sidewalk as they chased after her.  
Marinette sprinted the whole way home, rushing past her concerned parents and up the stairs to her room. She dove onto her bed, finally letting the tears flow as she sobbed into her pillows.  
      “It’s okay, Marinette,” Tikki’s soft voice assured her as she ran her tiny hands through Marinette’s hair.  
      “I l-love him s-s-so much, Tikki!” she cried.  
      “I know.”  
      “It h-hurts,” Mari whimpered as she curled in on herself.  
      “I know.” Tikki sighed, curling up between Mari’s shoulder and her cheek, only moving to dive under one of Mari’s pillows when the creak of the trap door alerted them to someone else’s presence.  
      “Marinette,” Alya’s voice said softly before she rushed over to the girl, scooping her up into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Mari. I shouldn’t have pushed so hard.” Marinette wrapped her arms around her friend, weeping into her shoulder. Mari noticed that Alya was shaking and when she pulled back a bit, she saw that her friend was crying too. Mari hugged her harder and the two rocked together until they had cried themselves out.  
      Mari was the first to pull away, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket.  
     “Do you want me to kill him?” Alya asked quietly, wiping her own eyes. “They’ll never find the body.”  
     “No.” Mari shook her head. “He didn’t do anything wrong.”  
     “He hurt you. That’s cause enough for a slow painful death. But since you love him, I’ll make it quick,” Alya joked.  
     “No,” Mari repeated, unable to laugh.  
     “Do you want me to…” Alya gestured at the walls around them, plastered with Adrein’s face.  
     “No. I’ll do it tomorrow.”  
     “Are you sure? Because I can get rid of them for you.”  
     “Yeah. It’s something I have to do by myself, but I just can’t tonight.” Alya looked uncertain, but nodded.  
     “I have to go home and watch my brothers and sisters, but text me, okay?’  
     “Okay,” Mari whispered. “Thank you.”  
     “Love you, girl,” Alya said, grabbing her backpack from where she’d dropped it on the floor. “And remember the offer to kill him still stands. Just say the word.”  
     Mari managed a chuckle for her friend. “Thanks, Alya. Love you too.” The girl left, shutting the trap door behind her. She heard muffled voices from downstairs as Tikki came out of hiding to snuggle in Marinette’s neck again. Alya must have been explaining what happened to her parents. Mari was grateful; she wasn’t sure if she’d have been able to get the words out and really didn’t want to relive the experience again.  
Numb, Marinette got herself ready for bed early. Luckily, the didn’t have homework that night so she didn’t have to worry about that. She laid back down in bed, cuddling Tikki to her chest as she faced the only Adrien free wall in her room.  
       She slept fitfully, exhausted by the events of the day and her own pain. Her mother had poked her head through the trapdoor to ask her about dinner, but Marinette declined. She kept waking herself up crying and would lay there sobbing while Tikki stroked her hair before passing out once more.  
      When she awoke the next morning to her alarm, she noticed that on her bedside table, there was a glass of water, a croissant and a note from her parents. She drained the glass of water, suddenly aware of how thirsty she was and picked up the note:

 

_Marinette,_   
_Alya told us what happened and we understand if you don’t want to talk, but know that we both love you very much and we’re always here for you if you need us. Be strong and know that you can do anything you set your mind to._   
_Love, Papa and Maman_

 

    Marinette almost burst into tears again at her parents kindness, but she refused to cry anymore, so she stuffed the croissant in her mouth and resolutely got ready for school.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. D:

Adrien felt terrible. It was a good thing he hadn’t had a photoshoot today because he didn’t think he’d have been able to concentrate, let alone smile. 

He closed his bedroom door behind him, dropping his bag onto the sofa and face planting onto his bed with a groan. He kept replaying her confession in his mind, recalling how sweet it was and how broken she looked as she ran from the room. 

Adrien had tried to catch up to her, but she ran faster than he had expected. Had Alya not grabbed his arm, jerking him to a stop, he would have followed her all the way home; for what, he still wasn’t sure. To apologize more? Like that would have helped.

Which was why he stood there staring after her while Alya yelled at him. Nino had tried to stick up for him, tried to quiet the angry redhead, but she had only shaken his friend off and Adrien just took it. He deserved it honestly. Anybody who could make someone look like Marinette had deserved worse than yelling. 

When it became clear that Adrien wasn’t processing what he was saying, Alya had huffed and mumbled something about going to fix his mistake before sprinting off in the direction of Marinette’s house. 

Nino had laid a hand on his shoulder and given him a sympathetic look before heading toward his own home. Adrien sighed and went to the car that was waiting for him out on the street. 

If only there was some way he could make this right. Marinette was a great person and he would consider a friend if she could only talk to him. Her stuttering and clumsiness around him made sense now. Before, he had chalked it up to the fact that he was Gabriel Agreste’s son and she was an aspiring fashion designer. 

Adrien laid on his bed, ignoring Plagg’s requests for cheese for so long, too lost in his own thoughts to care.

He sat up suddenly, an idea forming in his head. It was probably stupid to even try, but he had to do  something to try to make this right. 

“Plagg,” he called into the room. “Claws out.” He transformed and jumped out of his bedroom window, using his cat like agility and his baton to quickly make his way across Paris to the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery. He wasn’t aware that he had been thinking as long as he had, but it was dark as he approached her balcony. 

As quietly as he could, he crept over to the skylight, raising a hand to knock at the glass when he paused. The room was dark, but he could see the faint outline of the girl in bed, her face pressed into her pillows as her whole body shook. He lowered his hand, his ears now picking up the sounds of sobbing that he had missed in his eagerness before. 

He sank to his knees and fisted his hair in his hands. He was stupid to think he could fix this by being here. It was selfish to even consider it; Adrien was the last person Marinette would want to see right now and even if she didn’t know it was him, it was horrible of him to have come here. This wasn’t something he was supposed to be witnessing; her pain wasn’t for his eyes. 

Ironically, he was so caught up in thinking of her feelings, that he hadn’t even considered that he had no right to them. 

He jumped off her balcony, making his way back home and fighting off tears he didn’t deserve to shed. 

After letting his transformation fall, he stood in his bedroom, shaking with clenched fists. It wasn’t fair! Why did he have to love someone he was sure would never love him back while Marinette, a sweet, cute girl in his class liked him? 

He sat on the edge of his bed, gazing at the floor as he contemplated how complicated things were now. He only ever wanted to be Marinette’s  friend, too caught up in Ladybug to ever consider anything else. 

“What do I do, Plagg?” Adrien asked the kwamii, who was hovering nearby. 

“I don’t know. Cheese is so much less complicated,” Plagg said, snuggling into Adrien’s cheek. It was odd of the little black cat to be so touchy feely, but he must have sensed that his charge needed it at the moment. 

“I didn’t want to hurt her, but…”

“You love Ladybug.”

“Yeah,” Adrien said softly, petting Plagg’s tiny head with his index finger. 

“Could you learn to love Marinette?” Plagg asked, a purr rumbling from his chest.

“I don’t know,” Adrien admitted, dropping his head into his hands. 

“Do you think Ladybug will love you?” Adrien looked through his fingers, meeting the small cat’s luminous green eyes. 

“I don’t think so,” he whispered. 

“Then wouldn’t it make sense to give up on Ladybug and go for someone you can actually have?”

“It doesn’t work that way, Plagg,” Adrien sighed. “I can’t just not love her. And I barely know anything about Marinette.”

“You know she’s friends with Alya, that she wants to be a fashion designer, that she’s incredibly good at those video game things, that her parents are nice and make amazing food, that she smells like cinnamon and sugar--”

“You noticed how she smelled?” 

“--and that she likes you.” Adrien had been chuckling at Plagg also noticing that Marinette smelled like sweets, but that last thought sobered him. 

“I can’t just give up Ladybug. She’s my dream.”

“She may be your dream, but there is a  real girl who likes you right in front of you. I may not be human or completely understand how you all think, but that seems stupid to hold out on something real for a day dream.” Plagg was still looking at him seriously, and Adrien was surprised. This was the longest, most serious conversation he had ever had with his kwamii, and Plagg had only mentioned cheese once. 

“It’s more complicated than that, Plagg. It wouldn’t be fair for me to date Marinette while I’m in love with Ladybug.” Adrien paused, knowing that the kwamii wouldn’t be able to understand. “Feelings are weird and I know you hate talking about this human stuff, but thanks, Plagg.” The kwamii grinned at him, doing a flip in midair. 

“Good talk. Can you feed me now?” Plagg whined, going over to the mini fridge under his desk where Adrien kept his cheese stash. 

“Did you seriously just have a serious talk with me just so I would feed you?” Adrien asked, exasperated as he went to go fetch the little cat’s cheese. 

“I haven’t eaten since you fed me at lunch! It’s almost midnight!” 

“Oops. Sorry, Plagg.” he piled a bunch of cheese, more than he normally gave him, on his desk. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“I know,” his kwamii said around a mouthful of camembert. “That’s the only reason I haven’t taken my ring and left.”

“Plagg!”

“I’m joking, kid,” Plagg said, rolling his eyes as he turned to give his full attention to the pile of cheese. Adrien changed for bed, Plagg’s words running through his head. Could he learn to love Marinette and put his Lady aside? He didn’t think so, but he felt that he owed it to Marinette to try at least. 

Adrien knew that before he could even consider it, there were a few things he needed to do. First, he had to find out once and for all how his Lady felt about him. And second, he had to somehow befriend Marinette. 

The second one might have to wait a bit until things have calmed down, but the first he could take care of tomorrow night on their patrol. He was going to do it. He was finally going to tell Ladybug how he felt about her. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again. D:

School had been rough that day, but Marinette hadn’t expected it to be easy. Not with the source of her heartbreak literally sitting right in front of her. Adrien’s face had been sad when he walked into the classroom and saw her and it took everything in her not to break down again. The last thing she wanted from him was pity. 

While they were waiting for class to start, she had seen him turn as if to talk to them like he and Nino always did, but abruptly, he jerked his body to face forward again. Mari’s heart sank. He hated her. 

“Just say the word,” Alya muttered next to her. Mari looked over at her friend, who was glaring daggers into the back of Adrien’s head. 

“Stop it, Alya. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“He hurt you.”

“Alya…”

“What? How can you blame me for wanting to hurt him back?’

“I don’t. I would feel the same if our positions were reversed, but please.”

“Give me one day of bitchiness and I’ll quit.” Mari looked into her friend’s eyes and saw the fire there. It was useless to argue at this point and this was probably the best deal she was going to get from Alya.

“Fine, but tomorrow it stops.” Mari rolled her eyes. 

The teacher came into the room then, calling the class to order and ending their whispered conversation. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For once, Marinette wasn’t looking forward to her patrol with Chat Noir. Despite how she had tried to be strong today, she was exhausted and sad. She wanted nothing more than to just fall into bed and maybe cry some more. Adrien hadn’t even looked at her once today and that hurt more than anything. She would get over the rejection, but him hating her was untolerable. 

“Marinette,” Tikki caught her attention and gestured at the clock. 

“I know,” Mari sighed. “ Tikki, spots on!”

After her transformation was finished, she jumped out onto her terrace, swinging across Paris to the Eiffel Tower, her usual meeting spot with Chat. 

As much as she hadn’t wanted to transform or patrol, it felt nice to be Ladybug for a little bit. Nobody would dare reject the spotted heroine who exuded confidence with every step. If she could patrol alone, it would be perfect. Chat was her partner and friend, but she didn’t feel like putting on a happy face anymore today. 

She frowned, kicking her legs as she sat on one of the iron beams and waited for Chat to show up. 

“Good evening, My Lady.” His voice came from behind her. Marinette tried to arrange her features into a convincing smile before she turned, but it seemed he acting skills didn’t fool him for a minute as his grin melted into a look of concern. 

“What’s wrong, Ladybug?”

“Nothing’s wrong,  Chaton ,” She lied, watching his concern turn to doubt. 

“Don’t lie to me.” He held her gaze and she cracked. 

“I’ve had a bad last couple of days. Civilian life stuff. Let’s just patrol.” She jumped off the tower, yoyo-ing her way down and onto a rooftop before she took of running. She heard Chat behind her, but made sure she stayed far enough in front of him that they couldn’t talk. 

At the speed she was keeping up, they finished their patrol in half the time they usually did, but the exercise still wasn’t enough to calm her mind. If anything the time she spent thinking had made her feel worse. Adrien hated her, a constant mantra in her mind. She needed to get home quickly so she wouldn’t cry in front of Chat. She was Ladybug right now and Ladybug didn’t make a fool of herself in front of her crush and she sure as hell didn’t cry about. Ladybug was strong, calm, confident--everything Marinette was not. 

“My Lady, wait!” Chat called out. She stopped then, steeling herself. The last thing she needed was to make Chat angry at her. 

“What is it, Chat?’ 

“I have something to tell you, My Lady. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile and there’s something I need to say.” Oh no, this could not be happening. Not right now. 

“Chat, I have to get home.” She pulled her arm back, preparing to swing away on her yoyo. There was no way she could handle this right now. She tossed the yoyo out, but it made it about ten feet before it was knocked out of the air. 

“Chat!” 

“Apologies, Ladybug, but I have to say this.” He went to go pick up both her yoyo and his baton from the rooftop where they had fallen.  

“Chat, what the hell are you doing?” She was angry now, all of the sadness and hurt she was feeling morphing into fury. “Give me back my yoyo or I’ll  take it back.” 

“I will, My Lady, but I need to tell you something.” 

“Then say it,” she spit out. “Say it so I can go.” He winced at the venom in her voice, his shoulders slumping. 

“I-I just wanted to say that…” he paused, looking up at her furious face and seeming to shrink into himself. “...I love you, Ladybug.” 

“Give me my yoyo.” 

“My Lady…”

“Give it to me now!” she shrieked, stamping her foot. She knew she was acting childish and under different circumstances it might have been humorous, but not right now. Not when she just wanted, no  needed , to get away from him.

She glared at him, angry at him for taking her escape away, for making her listen to something she didn’t want to hear. 

“If you don’t give me back my yoyo right now--” 

“I need an answer,” Chat yelled. “Please, I just...I need you to answer me.” Marinette paused, noting the pain in her  Chaton’s face, but it wasn’t enough to stop her. She was sick of everybody preferring Ladybug to Marinette, no matter how unfair it was to expect herself to compare to the enigma of the spotted hero. 

“You want an answer?” she asked in a tight voice. He nodded and she walked closer to him. “Fine. I don’t love you, Chat. You’re my friend, but I love someone else.”

“I-I-”

“And he doesn’t love me back. How could he with Ladybug running around? How could he love the boring girl behind the mask who can’t even speak a word to him without stuttering and falling over herself?” Chat was looking at the ground now, not meeting her eyes. Marinette knew she should stop, should just take her yoyo back and go home, but once she started, she couldn’t stop. 

“And you wouldn’t love her either if you truly knew her. Ladybug is a mask. You don’t know, me Chat and you’d hate me if you did.” 

“I would never--”

“You don’t know that!” she shouted, yanking her yoyo out of his hands. “Ladybug isn’t real.” She threw her yoyo out, but this time, Chat didn’t stop her. 

She swung through her open skylight, her transformation releasing as she bounced onto her bed. 

“Marinette!” Tikki yelled. “That was really cruel!” Her kwamii glared at her.

“I don’t care! I’m sick of playing second fiddle to Ladybug.”

“Marinette, you  are Ladybug!”

“But the people that matter don’t know that!” Mari wailed, throwing herself onto her pillows. “And it wouldn’t make a difference anyways.” 

“Marinette…”

“I’ll be fine, Tikki. Just let me sleep. There are cookies on the desk.” 

“Will Chat Noir be fine?” her kwamii shot back at her. 

“I don’t know.” She pressed her face into her pillows, not wanting to talk anymore. She heard Tikki sigh and go over to her desk to munch on the cookies she had set out earlier. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, but it's kind of a filler to gather Adrien's thoughts and emotions as well as how things stand. Next chapter is much better :3

Adrien hadn’t felt this way since his mother had disappeared, so hurt, so  broken . He hadn’t thought Ladybug would be that harsh. He knew he was probably going to be rejected, but he hadn’t expected her to be so angry when he confessed. 

He probably should have stopped when she’d gotten to angry after he’d taken her yoyo, but he needed to know and he only ended up hurting both of them. It seemed that was all Adrien could do lately; hurt the people he cared about. 

Despite all of that, he had his answer. If her reaction was enough to go by, she would never love him. There was no chance for Chat Noir and Ladybug to be anymore than friends. He would apologize to his Lady---he really needed to stop calling her that too, she would never be his--and hopefully their partnership wouldn’t be damaged beyond all repair after his actions today. 

He still loved her, of course and felt like he always would. Her rejection, though anticipated, hurt worse than he could have possibly imagined. 

If Marinette had felt even half as much pain as he had, it would be a wonder if she didn’t completely hate him. He didn’t hate Ladybug though, as much as a small piece of him would have liked to. He had been the one to push her past the breaking point, after all. She had tried to leave and he hadn’t let her. He might as well have forced her to say what she said. He sighed, his mind struggling to push past it all and think about what to do next. As much as he wanted to stew in his own misery, he had more important things to worry about besides his own feelings.

“What do I do now?” Adrien asked Plagg, who was hovering nearby, watching him carefully, as though fearing that Adrien was going scream or cry. He was tempted, but it wouldn’t solve anything and he’d only hear about it later from his father, which wasn’t something he would look forward to.

“You get me cheese. I’m not listening to you mope without a full stomach.” Adrien retrieved the cheese for the kwamii, waiting for a reply as he watched him wolf the snack down. Plagg patted his stomach and sighed happily.

“Now, proceed to mope.”

“I don’t know what to do now.”

“Well. Neither do I.”

“Helpful, Plagg,” Adrien scoffed and flopped backwards onto his bed. 

“Why don’t you just get to know Marinette? You might like her.”

“That seems really shallow.”

“I don’t see why you humans get all worked up about this stuff. You already think she’s sweet and she is pretty cute, so why not just go for her? Why spend time pining after Ladybug?”

“Because I still love Ladybug.”

“So? Don’t you know you can love more than one person at once?”

“That’s still not fair, Plagg.”

“Either take my suggestion or don’t.” Plagg shrugged and curled up on Adrien’s pillow. “Don’t ask for advice if you’re going to shoot down all my ideas.” The kwamii yawned then and promptly fell asleep. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The next day, Adrien was determined to get to know Marinette better, but Chat’s bad luck was strong and he couldn’t seem to get an opportunity to talk to her despite their proximity in class. Either that or Alya was purposefully sabotaging him, which judging by the glares she kept shooting in his direction, was extremely likely. 

If it were possible, Marinette had looked even more sad and tired than she had the previous day, which made Adrien nervous. Time was supposed to heal things like this, not make the worse, right? Not that he was faring much better. 

Adrien had barely slept a couple hours the night before, tossing and turning from a combination of the ache of Ladybug’s rejection and his guilt over hurting Marinette. He had dark circles under his eyes that he had caked concealer on with minimal results and he was more than a little grouchy. 

Impatient and annoyed seemed to be his primary moods today, though he did his best to hide it, ever mindful of the “perfect” facade his father expected him to keep in place. 

Nino had seen right through him, merely asking if he was okay when they had met in front of the school building and keeping his distance when Adrien had admitted to being overly tired. 

Adrien’s aggravation with Alya’s behavior only grew as the day wore on and he half expected Marinette to call her on it a few times, though the girl seemed to be in a fog, unmindful of the going ons around her. 

The snappish remarks and glares were growing old, however, and Adrien was thankful for the bell that signalled the end of the day. He was worried his thin mask of control was going to slip at any second and he would say something he would regret.

He couldn’t blame Alya for her anger of protectiveness of Marinette. He would feel the same way if someone had hurt Nino, but it still annoyed him. He was trying to make it right or at least better and he just couldn’t seem to get close enough to her to make a start on fixing it. 

As he was walking out to his car, planning on taking a nap as soon as he got home, he had an idea. 

Adrien couldn’t get close to her, but Chat Noir could. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is your fluff. :D   
> Enjoy

Only about a hundred more to go , Mari thought to herself as she carefully peeled another Adrien poster off the wall. She’d told Alya she would remove them yesterday, but after her patrol as Ladybug, she hadn’t been up to it. 

Mari had calmed down quite a bit, but her emotions were still in turmoil. She’d been out of it all day, but she had noticed that Alya had not made good on their deal. 

Adrien had seemed to have been trying to catch her attention today, but Alya had shut him down every time, which, quite frankly, annoyed her. If Adrien was still trying to talk to her, that meant he didn’t hate her, right?

However, she had been so tired and drained, she hadn’t spoken up about it. She would just have to talk to Alya about it and hope that Adrien hadn’t given up. Tikki was hidden away in one of her drawers, cuddled up with a soft scarf as she slept, which was all well and good because her kwamii had been peeved at her since last night. Marinette understood why, but could she really be blamed for cracking under the pressure? She couldn't have Ladybug's poise all of the time and she was more than a little annoyed at her tiny friend for assuming to think so, though she would never show it. Hopefully she would be able to smooth things over with Chat and by extension, Tikki, soon.  


She was slow as she removed the pictures, but she felt it was something she needed to think about while doing, so she took her time. 

A knock on her skylight made her jump. What the? She made her way over to her bed cautiously, looking up, stricken when she saw Chat Noir’s grinning face staring back at her. She climbed up on her bed, standing cautiously as she opened the hatch. 

“What are you doing here, Chat?” She asked, shocked. 

“Just came by to see how my favorite civilian was doing. May I come in, Princess?” Marinette debated with herself, probably longer than was polite before deciding that it couldn’t do any harm. 

“Okay.” She sat back on the bed, giving him room to drop down next to her. 

“I like your room,” he said, looking around. “Lots of pictures of that Adrien Agreste kid though. Do you like him or something?” She winced. 

“I do, but I was actually taking them down when you knocked.”

“Oh?” he asked, cocking his head to the side and peering at her with bright green eyes. “Do you mind if I ask what happened?” Chat was being strangely serious and it was kinda weirding Mari out, but at the same time, it was nice.

“I confessed to him. It didn’t go as I would have hoped,” she said shortly, getting up to continue taking the posters down so she had something to do with her hands. She heard her bed springs squeak as Chat got down to the floor, but she didn’t turn around. 

“I’m sorry to hear that, Princess. Your prince sounds like an idiot.” Mari actually laughed at that, surprising herself. 

“He’s not my prince and he’s not an idiot. Last time I checked it wasn’t a crime not to like someone back.”

“Still makes him an idiot,” Chat said casually. “Do you want some help with that? There’s a lot of them.” Mari paused. She’d thought this was something she should do on her own, but it might be therapeutic for Chat to help her. She was feeling guilty now for what she’d said to him last night. He was being so sweet, something she didn’t know he had in him, if she were completely honest.  


“Don’t you have super hero business to take care of? You know, people to save?” She asked, carefully peeling back the tape on one of her favorite full body shots. He reached up and started pulling a large poster off the wall, being just as delicate with them as she had been. 

“I think I am saving someone right now,” he said quietly, his claws making easy work at the tape. “I know what it feels like to be rejected by the one you love. Looking at his face can’t be easy.”

“Chat…” she said his name softly, her fingers falling away from the poster in her hands, her guilt returning in full force. Adrien had been understanding and nice when he’d rejected her and it still hurt like hell. She couldn’t imagine how Chat was feeling was right now. 

“Besides!” He said, setting the poster on her stack and reaching for another one. “It’ll go faster with the two of us!” Mari felt another wave of guilt at the hurt he was trying to hide from her, the hurt that she had caused.  


Indeed, they made quick work of her walls, the posters carefully laid inside a box that was shoved into the back of her closet where she couldn’t see it. 

“Thank you for your help, Chat,” Mari told him. She wasn’t sure what to do now and they were just standing awkwardly in the middle of her room. 

“You’re welcome, Princess. I guess I should probably go.” He turned, but Mari caught the glum expression on his face and reached out, grabbing his leather clad hand, not sure exactly what she was doing. She just knew she didn’t want to be alone with her newly bare walls. 

“Stay,” she told him. “I’ll make us some hot chocolate and bring up some macarons.” She looked up at his surprised face and quickly let go of his hand, her face flushing. “Stay,” she said before creeping out of her room and down the stairs, heating up milk for their hot chocolates and filling a plate with croissants and macarons that hadn’t sold during the day. She was worried that he had left anyways as she rushed back up the stairs as quietly as she could, but she needn’t have worried. Chat was reclining on her lounge chair, eyes closed with a small smile she didn’t understand on his face. It was different than that trademark Chat Noir grin and she felt strangely blessed to be able to see him like this. 

He looked over at her when she approached and made grabby hands for the hot chocolate, making her laugh as she handed it to him. She clutched her own cup, sitting down on the floor next to her lounge chair and setting the plate between them on the edge of the chair. He reached for a macaron, chocolate, she noted and then frowned at her. 

“Isn’t that uncomfortable to sit on the floor?” He scooted over and patted the seat right next to him. “It’s big enough for two.”

“I’m fine, Chat,” she rolled her eyes and grabbed a chai flavored cookie for herself, biting into it and closing her eyes as she chewed. No matter how many she had in her life. it would never be enough. Her Papa’s chai macarons were the best in Paris and she loved them.

“Then I’ll come sit down there with you.” Before she could stop him, he was sitting next to her, close enough that their thighs were touching, the soft, supple leather of his suit brushing up against her bare legs. Wearing shorts had been a mistake. He reached around her, his hand ghosting against the back of her neck, causing her to shiver, as he grabbed the plate of baked goods and sat it in front of him. As close as he was to her, of course he felt her shiver.

“Cold?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” she lied. Who could be cold with him sitting so near and a cup of hot chocolate? He moved closer, draping an arm over her shoulder and pulling her into his side. 

“I’ll warm you up.” he winked at her. She started to pull away, but realized she was very comfortable and couldn’t bring herself to move an inch. 

They sipped their hot chocolate, the silence somehow not awkward at all. It had been a long day and Marinette found herself growing sleepy, but she didn’t want to sleep right now. For the first time in days, she felt content, a small glow of happiness in her chest and she didn’t want it to end. She sat her cup off to the side on the floor and leaned her head onto Chat’s shoulder, snuggling closer to him. It felt so wonderful to just be near someone who wasn't incessantly asking if she was okay, but still providing support, that she had no qualms about cuddling with Chat. If that made her selfish, then so be it. She would take any amount of happiness where she could find it as it seemed to be scarce these days.  


“Princess?”

“Mhmmm,” she said, not able to come up with an intelligible response through the haze of warmth and satisfaction in her brain. 

“Do you…” he hesitated. “Do you want to talk about what happened with your prince?” 

“Not my prince,” she mumbled against his shoulder. “And no.”

“Do you mind if I talk about what happened with me?" he paused before speaking again. "I know it's weird, but I don't really have anyone else to talk about it with..." he trailed off, chuckling nervously.   


“Not at all,” she sighed against the leather. "You should be able to talk about it with somebody at least." She couldn’t deny him that given that she was the one who had caused him pain. 

“Are you sure? You seem like you’ll fall asleep any second.”

“Just...happy.” She smiled. “And maybe a little sleepy,” she admitted. 

“I should let you go to bed, Princess.” He moved to get up, but her arms latched around his stomach

“No. You’re my pillow now.” He chuckled and she felt the vibrations in her arms. “Stop moving,” she complained, causing him to laugh harder. 

“I should definitely let you get to bed, plus my time should be running out soon for my transformation. I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t already.” He pulled her off of him, ignoring her protests and stood before leaning down to sweep her into his arms bridal style. She leaned her head against his chest, not even ashamed. He was warm and he was making her happy; there was nothing to be self conscious about. Though of course, she might think differently when she thought about it tomorrow morning in the cold, hard light of day. 

He carried her effortlessly over to her bed, placing her in the middle and tugging the covers over her. Her fingers were latched onto the front of his suit and he laughed as he individually pried them off, only to have her secure them again as soon as he moved onto the next. 

“Princess, please,” he playfully admonished her as he gave up. She giggled into the pillows, but reluctantly let go. 

“Will you come back?” she asked as he stood, reaching above his head to grip the lip of the skylight. 

“Do you want me to?” 

“Hmmm,” she pretended to think, feeling him tense. “I’d like that,”

He laughed again. “Goodnight, Princess.”

“Goodnight,  Chaton. ” She snuggled into her bed, feeling his weight disappear as he lifted himself through the skylight and closed it with a soft click behind him.

  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a whole lot to say this time around, but I will note that I'm using a 12 hour time format even though the French use 24 for simplicity's sake. I don't want people who don't use a 24 hour clock to have to do the calculation, thus detracting from the story. 
> 
> Enjoy! :D

Alya seemed to be off guard duty today as Adrien could turn around in his seat without her glowering at him. Marinette looked a lot better today and maybe it was a bit egotistical to think so, but he couldn’t help but think it was his visit as Chat that had caused the change. She didn’t have her full “Marinette” glow back yet, but Adrien had faith that it would return soon. 

He was trying to think of some excuse to talk to her, but was coming up short on ideas that wouldn’t seem weird or worse, freak her out. 

To be honest, he wasn’t sure she would even  want to talk to him, if last night was any sort of evidence. She had taken down his pictures, as if she couldn’t even bear to see his face, so why would she ever want to talk to him again? He slouched down into his seat, unsure how to proceed. 

He could just turn around and talk to her, but he wasn’t sure what sort of reaction he would get. Would she ignore him? No. It was much more likely that she would smile and act like nothing was wrong. It wasn’t like her to be rude even if he deserved it. Plus, he would likely earn back Alya’s ire if he pulled something like that.

He could bump into her after class--it was certainly plausible with how clumsy she got around him, if that was even still applicable anymore, but he ran into the same problem where she would be nice even if she didn’t feel like it. 

He sighed, causing Nino to look over at him curiously. Adrien just shook his head, not wanting to attract the teacher’s attention. Plus, he didn’t even know how to explain what he was doing in the first place. Maybe this was stupid. Maybe he should let her be so they could both move on with their lives. But he had promised her that he would come back as Chat and he couldn’t just leave her alone as Adrien while still visiting her as his alter-ego. 

If he couldn’t get to know her as Adrien, he would just have to continue to do so as Chat Noir until his fickle heart made a decision. He would visit her later on tonight, he affirmed. 

His next problem was how he was supposed to face Ladybug on their patrol tomorrow night. He knew he should apologize for forcing her to listen to him, but he didn’t know how she would react and how broken their partnership was going to be now. He had really made a mess of things, but Adrien was determined to do his very best to fix things with both Marinette and Ladybug.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Adrien had a photoshoot that ran long after school, much to his irritation. The few breaks he had received were short and he hadn’t had time to get his homework done. He was more than a little irritated when the shoot finally ended at close to nine o’ clock. He still had to complete his homework when he got home, lest his grades start slipping and his father pulled him further under his control. That would make it hard to both get closer to Marinette as Adrien and complete his duties as Chat Noir. 

He was impatient on the ride home, rushing up to his room and yanking his tablet from his bag. He fed Plagg--probably more than he should have, but he wanted the kwamii to be more amenable to an unnecessary transformation. Adrien answered the Physics problems that had been assigned as well as the reading for his Literature class. Luckily, his homework load had been light. As it was, it was nearly ten-thirty by the time he finished. Marinette would be getting ready for bed soon and he wanted to get there before she did. 

“Plagg, claws out!” He was out the window before his transformation had fully finished and he fumbled a bit as he tried to get his baton out so that he wouldn’t face plant onto the perfectly cut green lawn, but he managed just in time, jumping his way across Paris to Marinette’s.

He landed as quietly as he could on her balcony, noticing with a grin that her skylight was already open. She had been expecting that he would come, then. He still knocked, not wanting to startle her. 

“Come in,” she called and he slipped through the window, bouncing straight down from her bed onto the floor. She turned in her desk chair, already smiling 

“You really shouldn’t leave your skylight open, let alone say ‘come in’ to just anybody who shows up on your balcony.”

“And who else would be up there other than a little black stray cat?”

“You make a fair point, Princess. Just…” he hesitated. “...be careful.”

“Are you worried about me,  Chaton ?” 

“A knight should always be worried about his princess.” Adrien made his way over to her chaise, flopping backwards onto it and putting his hands behind his head, trying to look like the very picture of relaxation even though he was anything but. 

“I’ll have you know that your princess has pepper spray and a baseball bat. I can take care of myself.” He laughed. 

“I’m sure you can, but you shouldn’t have to.” Mari scoffed at that, coming over to where he sat and nudging his legs aside so she could sit next to them. 

“I appreciate it, Chat, but you don’t have to.” She paused, looking away from him to her hands, which were twisting together. “You know if you don’t want to come here, you don’t have to.”

“I want to, Princess. What kind of knight would I be if I wasn’t here for my Lady when she needs me.” He thought his words would make her laugh or sigh in exasperation. What he wasn’t expecting was that she would freeze and raise her eyes up to his. 

“Your Lady?” she whispered. 

“Would you prefer ‘Your Highness’?” Chat joked, not understanding her reaction. Sure he called Ladybug that, but a regular civilian would hardly have noticed, right?

“Don’t you call Ladybug that?” she asked, echoing his thoughts. Wrong.

“Not anymore,” he told her, shifting his eyes away from hers to gaze at a bare spot on the wall that was slightly darker than the rest of the room--one of the spaces  where a poster of him had been. The silence between them was awkward, so unlike the quiet when they had been snuggling the night before. 

“You wanted to talk about it last night,” Marinette said softly. “Do you still want to?” He looked back to her, meeting her earnest blue eyes. He was surprised she remembered and even more surprised that she was offering to listen. 

He nodded, suddenly feeling more vulnerable than he could ever remember feeling as a lump rose in his throat, rendering him speechless. Her eyes, impossibly blue, seemed to see right through him and her expression was sad as she moved toward him. 

“Oh,  Chaton ,” she said, crawling up beside him and nudging her way in between him and the armrest of her chaise. She wiggled into place, resting her head against his arm and he embraced her, putting an arm around her shoulder and tilting his head against hers. Scratch that,  now he had never felt more vulnerable in his life. She was comforting him, snuggling him, unknowing that he was the same boy who broke her heart. Adrien knew that she was kind hearted, but this was too much. 

However, he couldn’t bring himself to pull away from her, to leave as he should have. It wasn’t fair to her that she was offering comfort to him not knowing who he was. It was selfish, but he couldn’t go. It had been so long since he had been held by someone else and he wasn’t going to give it up now, no matter how terrible a person that made him. 

“I…It’s…” he stopped taking a deep breath, trying to get his thoughts to form into coherent words. “It’s difficult to talk about.” 

“I know,” she said simply, moving her hand to rest against his heart and pulling him closer to her. “Just say what comes to mind and I’ll listen. It doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to make sense.” 

“She rejected me,” he said unnecessarily as he had already told her that last night, but she didn’t say anything, just waited for him to continue. “It was my fault,” he whispered, pressing his face into her hair. “She didn’t want to hear it and I  made her listen to my confession.” The tears were coming now, leaking from his eyes despite his best efforts not to cry. “She hates me,” he choked out. “She hates me and it’s all my fault.” Marinette shifted then, tugging him into a tight hug.

“She doesn’t hate you,  Chaton .” 

“But--”

“No. She doesn’t.” Marinette was stroking her fingers through his hair and he had to fight harder to hold back the sobs in his chest.

“She does.” 

“She doesn’t,” Mari repeated, sounding so sure of herself that she almost convinced him for a moment. 

“She--”

“Chat,” she stopped him. “You’re an amazing person--” he shook his head in denial. “Yes, you are. You try your hardest for Paris, for Ladybug. You’ve taken hits for her that would have doomed the city and her and she knows it. She knows that she can’t do it without you.”

“I’m not that important,” Adrien sobbed, unable to control it anymore. Marinette pulled back then, taking his face in her hands as she held his gaze, her previously soft eyes hardened into sapphires.

“Yes. You. Are. In addition to that, I’ve seen you take care of people after the attacks, talking to victims and children. You came here and helped me. You’re not just my knight, but Ladybug’s as well. And if she hates you after all that, well then she’s an idiot.” Adrien gulped under the weight of her gaze, the heaving sobs dwindling to embarrassing sniffles. 

“Thank you, Marinette,” he gasped out, pulling her against him once more into a hug. He felt better now, but somehow he also felt worse. Here he was having a breakdown in the arms of the girl he had rejected. 

“You’re welcome, Chat.” Her fingers returned to his hair and he laid there in her arms while his tears slowed to a stop and a sleepy calm descended on him. 

Her hands had drifted to rub behind his cat ears and despite the guilt he felt from accepting comfort from her, he couldn’t deny he enjoyed it. A low rumble started up in his chest, surprising them both. 

“Are you purring?” she giggled. He pulled back from her, trying to stop it, but her hands were still moving along the back of his ears and he realized he couldn’t, his face heating with a flush. 

“Sorry.” He smiled sheepishly at her, but she still didn’t stop. “I’ve never done this before. I didn’t even know I could.”

“It’s okay,  Chaton. ” she told him, snuggling into him. “It’s nice to know you don’t have other princesses vying to pet you.”

“I wouldn’t let them,” he sighed, settling back against the chaise. She didn’t respond to that and he was too content to worry about it. 

After a time, her hand had stilled and he realized that Marinette had fallen asleep, her chest rising and falling against his. He untangled himself from her and stood, picking her up in his arms as he had the previous night and bringing her to her bed. He tucked her in, noting the small smile that seemed frozen on her face. He was standing to leave when he had an impulse, a strong one that he couldn’t seem to resist. He leaned down, pressing his lips to her forehead. 

“Sleep well, Princess.” he whispered before pulling himself out onto her balcony and heading home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you all enjoy the snuggles? 'Cause I did! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't resist adding a hint of Rose/Juleka. :3 sorry for not updating for awhile but life got a little crazy. Never fear though. I'm super dedicated to this story and I'm going straight to work on chapter 8 after I post this! ^.^

       As Marinette was walking to school the next day, she was thinking over everything that had happened between her and Chat Noir. In an interesting turn of events, her partner, unbeknownst to him, of course, had done a lot of work in healing the wound in her heart that Adrien had left.

       She really needed to apologize to him—as Ladybug. Her behavior that night had been a product of her own heartache, but that didn’t make it excusable. They had patrol tonight and Marinette was determined to start mending the rift between them. Chat was important to her and she needed to fix things, even though she wouldn’t—no, couldn’t—return his feelings. Her heart still loved Adrien, though she was feeling a little better about his rejection, she knew those feelings wouldn’t go away overnight. Even though Marinette wanted to move on, to leave her feelings for the model behind, she still wanted to be his friend.

     Adrien always looked so lonely behind his perfect smile and despite the pain he had caused her, she wanted to ease his own in whatever way she could. How to do that though? She still couldn’t talk to him properly and she wasn’t even sure he would want her to. Would it be awkward of her to try to befriend him?

      She was so lost in thought, she had barely noticed herself ascending the stairs to her school, almost walking right past Alya, who was waiting outside for her.  

      “Mari?” the redhead’s voice pulled her from her swirling thoughts.

      “Sorry, Alya. I was thinking,” Marinette apologized, giving her friend a smile.

      “That’s okay. I’m just happy to see you smiling again, girl.” Alya looped an arm through Marinette’s as they walked up the stairs. “Now tell Mama Alya what’s going on that head of yours.”

     “It’s nothing,” Mari said biting her lip. She knew that Alya was still mad at Adrien for rejecting her, no matter how many times Mari had told her that it wasn’t his fault. She wasn’t sure if Alya would support her plans to get closer to Adrien as his friend.

     “Didn’t look like ‘nothing’. So spill.” They had reached their classroom, empty except for Juleka and Rose sitting in the back of the room, their heads inclined toward one another as they had a whispered conversation. Marinette noted that Juleka was uncharacteristically blushing from something the tiny blonde had said. Mari smiled,. She was glad that at least someone was having luck with their love lives.

     “Okay, I’ll tell you,” She whispered to Alya as they settled into their seats.

     “Just promise you won’t freak out.”

      “I make no such promises,” Alya giggled. “But do tell! I’m really curious now.”

     “I know it’s really soon, butIwanttobefriendswithAdrien,” Mari said, rushing the last bit, fearing her friend’s reaction. Alya didn’t say anything at first, only blinking at Marinette with a shocked expression.

      “Why?” She finally asked.

      “Because he’s still Adrien. Because he’s a kind person and he always looks so lonely.”

      “I don’t know about that bit about him being kind, but it’s up to you, Marinette.” Alya looked uncertain before she continued. “I’ll support you in whatever you decide.”

      “Really?” Mari asked, surprised by the lack of venom in the girl’s voice when talking about her crush. She chose to ignore the comment about Adrien not being nice, though everything in her wanted to argue that he was. She didn’t want to fight with Alya today and knew that she would feel the same as her friend if their situations were reversed.

      “Of course. You’re my best friend!” Alya held her hand up for a fist bump and Mari laughed as she returned it. The rest of the class had started filtering in then, including Nino and Adrien, the latter of whom smiled at Marinette when she caught his eye. Mari blushed, her heart beating rapidly as she shyly smiled back before training her eyes on her desk.

      The teacher had just walked in when a small folded up piece of paper slid in front of her from her left. She unfolded it, giving Alya a questioning glance.

 

I’ll help you with your plan, but know that if he hurts you again, I WILL kill him. –A

 

Mari rolled her eyes, tucking the note in her bag as the lesson started. She was glad to have her friend on her side in this, even if Alya could be a bit dramatic.

_Later that Night..._

      Mari was waiting at their usual meeting spot for Chat to show up for patrol, worrying with every second that ticked by that he wouldn’t show. She had been horrible to him after all and she wouldn’t blame him one bit if he couldn’t face her.

      She needn’t have worried though, as she heard a noise behind her and turned to see her leather-clad partner walking toward her on the rooftop.

      “Ladybug,” he greeted her strangely quietly, not meeting her eyes.

      “Chat I—“

      “I need—“ The both stopped, looking at the other expectantly. “You first,” Chat told her, still not really looking at her. Marinette’s heart ached. She had really screwed things up with him.

      “Chat, I’m so sorry.” She edged closer to him, ducking to intercept his gaze with the ground. “What I said the other night was uncalled for. It was terrible and mean and I cannot say how sorry I am. I was very upset about some things going on in my real life and I ended up taking it out on you. It’s not an excuse for what I did, but an explanation. I’m so sorry, Chat. Can you forgive me?” She asked, watching his vibrant green eyes widen as she spoke. His head shot up and his expression was strangely unreadable, though she thought she saw a glint of confusion as his emotions cycled.

     “Of course I forgive you. I can only hope you’ll forgive me, Ladybug.” Now it was Mari’s turn to be confused. What on Earth did he think he needed forgiveness for? “I shouldn’t have forced you to hear my confession. I’m so sorry. That was wrong and I—“

     “It’s okay, Chaton.” She interrupted, stepping closer to him. “I know I haven’t made it easy for you.” He smiled then, reaching out to gently take her hands in his. It was the kind of smile she had never seen on him before; not a mischievous grin or a flirty smirk, but a small, earnest smile.

     “So are we friends again?” he asked, meeting her eyes on his own, finally. She tugged her hands from his before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him to her chest.

      “We were never not friends, Chat.” She whispered, holding him close as he wound his arms around her. “We’ll always be friends.”

      “Thank you, Ladybug,” he sighed into her neck. They held each other a bit longer before Marinette eventually pulled away, letting her hands slide down to rest on his forearms.

      “Partners forever?” She asked, grinning.

      “Forever.” He answered her grin with one of his own.

      “We should probably patrol then, Partner.” She reached up and tweaked his nose before throwing her yoyo out to wrap around a fireplace across the road and swung away, hearing his laughter behind her as he followed, vaulting himself across rooftops with his baton.

      When the two had finished their route, ending atop Notre Dame cathedral, Marinette didn’t want to leave him so soon after they had made up, so she sat down, patting the roof next to her. He sat as well, casting her an inquiring look.

      “I just want to talk some more,” she explained.

      “What about?” She noticed he hadn’t called her ‘My Lady’ all night and wondered what that was about. Nor had he punned once.

       “Are you okay?” She asked him, feeling stupid even as the words left her mouth. She knew he wasn’t okay. He had said as much during their last encounter as Marinette.

       “I’m...” he hesitated. “I’m doing better. There’s someone I’ve been talking to and she’s helped a lot.”

        “I’m glad you found someone, Chat,” she said earnestly before realizing it was a bit suspicious with how she was about their secret identities, so she tacked on a quick “She doesn’t know who you are, right?” He was shaking his head.

     “Nope. She just knows me as Chat Noir. You remember that girl, Marinette, who you had me protect?” Mari pretended to think about it.

      “Yes. Is that her?”

      “It is,” Chat said, hesitating again. “I really like spending time with her.” Mari looked away, her face turning red. She wouldn’t have been able to explain it away so she hid her face until her flush died down, knowing Chat had great night vision.

      “I’m happy for you, Chaton.”

      “Thank you, Ladybug.”

      “Am I not your ‘Lady’ anymore?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking, instantly regretting it when she looked to see a flash of pain across his features before he hid it.

      “I’m trying to move forward,” he said quietly, causing a pang in her chest that she couldn’t explain. “I want...” he took a deep breath before looking away. “I want to open my heart to someone else and it’s hard when I think of you that way.”

       “I understand, Chat.” She whispered laying a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for being honest with me.” He nodded, opening his mouth to speak when his ring started to beep.

      “We should go,” she said, standing and offering him a hand to tug him to his feet. “But before we do, know that you can talk to me about anything, Chat. I won’t close you off anymore.”

      "That means a lot. Thank you again, Ladybug.” He smiled again, that strange smile from before and saluted her before taking off across the city.

      She followed suit, sliding in her window just as her transformation wore off, an exhausted but smiling Tikki greeting her.

      “I’m proud of you, Marinette!”

      “Thanks, Tikki,” Marionette sighed before going off to get ready for bed.

     She knew Chat would have to recharge his kwamii and likely wouldn’t be coming by tonight, but she still felt a small spark of hope that she would get to see him. He made her happy, she realized as she was brushing her teeth. The girl in the mirror was blushing with the realization, but she shrugged it off. With and without the masks, Chat Noir was a good friend to her and she couldn’t have been any luckier to have him as her partner.

       She fell asleep easily that night despite the lack of Chat’s actual presence, his words from earlier giving her a warm feeling that had her smiling as she drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the formatting is weird. I'm posting this from my phone because I'm having issues with my laptop connecting to the Internet. I will go back and fix it later, but I wanted to get a chapter up for you guys! ^.^


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I've had a bout of the lazies lately so I apologize for not updating before this. But I finally got inspiration to write, however, I haven't slept yet as of posting this, so hopefully there aren't too many errors.  
> Regardless, enjoy! ^,^

To Adrien’s relief, things at school were starting to return to their normal state. Alya had finally quit glaring at him everytime he took a breath and Marinette looked much happier than she had in the previous days. She wasn’t quite back to her old self, but he was glad to know that his visits as Chat Noir had seemed to help.

He had been surprised by the events at his and Ladybug’s last patrol, having planned to spend the whole night begging for forgiveness. The fact that she had apologized to him had shocked him; he felt as though he deserved every one of her harsh words for forcing her to listen to his confession.

Nino tapped him on the arm during class, pulling Adrien’s attention from his memories. He glanced at his friend and then down at the desk at the folded white square of paper between them. He slid it over, careful to make sure their teacher hadn’t seen him before unfolding it. 

 

_Hey, man! Everything okay? You’ve been acting weird lately. -N_

_I’m alright. Things have just been stressful. -A_

_Your dad or Marinette? -N_

Adrien hesitated, unsure whether he should tell Nino about his plan to befriend the girl who sat behind him, but decided that he could use all the help he could get. He didn’t have to tell Nino about visiting her as Chat, right? 

 

_Marinette. I want to be friends with her. -A_

_Whoa! You sure that’s a good idea, dude? I mean, first of all, is Alya even going to let you within ten feet of Mari? -N_

_I know, but even though I don’t like her like that, she’s still really cool and I want to be her friend. I was hoping you could help me with the Alya problem, actually. I promise I never meant to hurt Marinette. -A_

 

Adrien watched Nino’s reaction as he read the note, seeing his friend glance behind him quickly before he scribbled a reply, sliding the paper back to Adrien. 

 

_I’m all for it, but I don’t want to die, man. -N_

_Nothing too crazy, I promise. Maybe just suggest something for all of us to do together? -A_

_Sounds doable. Lunch this weekend maybe? -N_

_I have a shoot Saturday, but I’m free Sunday. Thanks, Nino! -A_

 

When the bell signalling the start of lunch break rang, Nino turned in his seat and grinned at Alya. 

 

“It’s been awhile since we’ve hung out together. Wanna get lunch Sunday?” 

 "Sure,” Alya said, smiling at the boy before turning to her friend. “Marinette?”

 “Yeah!” She smiled as she stood, stuffing her tablet into her backpack. 

 “Cool so the four of us can meet at Marinette’s at eleven on Sunday?” 

 “The four of us?” Alya asked, her eyes flicking over to Adrien, who had sat silent during the whole conversation, scared of drawing attention to himself. 

“Sounds good!” Mari replied before anyone could answer. “Come on, Alya. Papa has a new flavor of macaron for us to try!” She grabbed the redhead’s hand and towed her away. As they walked through the door, Adrien noticed that their heads were close together in a heated, whispered conversation. It seemed that he wasn’t quite in the clear with Alya yet. He would just have to work harder. 

 

* * *

 

After lunch break, Adrien had returned to the school, more than ready for the day to be over so he could rush home, finish his homework and spend some time with Marinette as Chat. 

It was unusual for him, but he had a difficult time paying attention in class, his thoughts constantly drifting to the girl behind him, enough so that he had been sneaking glances over his shoulder at her. 

Apparently there were only so many times his pencil could fall to the floor before it became obvious what he was doing. At least, judging by the piece of paper that appeared on his periphery. 

 

_Dude, what are you doing?! You’re going to make Alya hate you again!- N_

_What? I’m not doing anything. - A_

_It was a bold faced lie. He knew it and apparently Nino did too if the note he received back was any indication._

_You keep looking at her! Are you sure you don’t like her? Because Alya is really going to kill you if you do after what you put her girl through. -N_

 

Adrien blushed, turning away to hide it. Dammit, Nino. Now was not the time. Besides, he was only turning red because of the accusation. He didn’t like Marinette that way; hell, he still barely knew her. 

 

_I barely know her! I’m just curious. I also want to make sure she’s okay. -A_

_You didn’t deny it. -N_

_I do NOT have a crush on Marinette! -A_

_Sounds like someone with a crush on Marinette would say. -N_

_You’re impossible. - A_

 

Adrien didn’t think it was possible, but his face had only gotten more red as the conversation progressed. Even the tips of his ears felt hot and he knew they must be the same shade as Ladybug’s suit. 

 

_And that’s why you’re blushing? Don’t feel bad, man. Half of the class has a crush on Marinette. Shit, I think even Chloé has a tiny one. Wouldn’t blame you if you did. -N_

_I DON’T! Wait! CHLOÉ!?!?!?!?! -A_

_You seriously haven’t noticed? Why else would she be so antagonistic towards Mari? Also, YOU TOTALLY DO! -N_

_I promise that I don’t. - A_

 

Adrien decided to leave the bit about  Chloé  having a crush on Marinette for another time. He would need some time to process that. His blush hadn’t gone down at all during the conversation and it was seriously getting annoying. He did  not have a crush on Marinette. Nino had sent back a drawing of a smiley face in response and Adrien wasn’t bothering to reply. It was clear Nino was dead set on him having a crush on the girl and nothing he said would dissuade him anyways. 

     Finally, the school day was over and Adrien could go home. He normally loved school, especially after how hard he had fought to get to go in the first place, but lately it seemed that it was just in the way of what he really wanted to do; get to know Marinette. Luckily, if everything went well, he would be able to spend a little time with his Princess tonight. 


End file.
